This day I love.......: Kiddy

If you have followed this blog for a while you will know that I like to be outdoors. I like to be active and explore and the current weather has limited my opportunities to do so. Now that Little Man is getting older he is wanting to walk more and explore more too, which often means we do not take the pushchair.

His little legs do get tired though and he does still want a rest, but the pushchair really limits as to where we can go. When the girls are at school Little Man and I often take J for an adventure and we leave the pushchair behind, in fact all we need is our Kiddy Adventure Pack.

I had a Kiddy Adventure pack with the girls and used it as part of my training for the Yorkshire 3 peaks. I even wrote a review on it. To be honest not much has changed between the style I had for the girls and the new style. There are additional features like slightly larger storage pockets, so you don't need to take an extra bag and a handy cup holder too.

The Adventure pack is comfortable to wear even when Little Man isn't in it, so I use it as a normal rucksack and then when he is tired it is quick and simple to put him in so he can rest his legs.

Just like his sister used to do Little Man plays with my hair and rubs my neck in the carrier. I also get lots of patting as he wants to point things out to me.

He loves been up high and spotting things in the distance. Talking to me and telling me all about what he can see.

We have taken the adventure pack on loads of adventures so far. Everywhere from the seaside to the forest. Unlike a pushchair we are not restricted by terrain and can explore off the beaten track.

In fact we have even been onto the 'tops' to explore.

The adventure pack lives in my car boot so that no mater where we go I always have it with us. Little Man is safe and comfortable and enjoys exploring with me.

Although sometimes on our adventures it all gets a bit too much and he falls asleep!

I cannot wait for the weather to improve so we can get out and about even more!

I was sent the adventure pack in exchange for a written post, all words are my own opinion.

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Whilst our car has three full seats in the back, some infant car seats are slightly wider than these passenger seats meaning it is not always possible to fit three seats in the back. My middle seat has no isofix points and my outer two seats have underfloor storage compartments. This means I cannot use any isofix seat which uses the anchor leg. I therefore had to find a car seat for baby that would fit with the seats the girls already own and if using Isofix it must not have the support leg.

One of my main requirements for a car seat for baby was that it must have the ability to lie flat. I am very aware of the 90 minute rule in car seats, and that babies should be removed from car seats at the end of a journey. I wanted to ensure that baby would be in the optimum position in the car and that is to lie flat. My choices therefore were slightly limited. However, lucky for me one of my favourite car seat brands not only matched my requirements but also fitted in the car.

The Kiddy evolutionpro 2 can be either isofix or 3 point seat belt fastened. We therefore opted for seat belt and it fitted on the back seats with the existing car seats. There was a range of gorgeous colours available and we went for blue.

I have been really impressed at how easy the Kiddy evolution pro 2 is to fit in the car. The lap belt fits in the seat belt guides and the diagonal belt slots in round the back.

This back part also stores the instruction manual should you need it. There is a clever safety feature that if the handle is in the wrong position the lap belt guide is blocked, so you cannot fasten the seat in incorrect. I love these simple touches as a car seat is useless if not fitted correctly and this helps to make it easy to install. The handle is how you make the seat lie flat, but it cannot be lie flat in the car with seat belt installation.

I have not tested the car seat on stroller wheels, but understand it is travel system compatible. There are also accessories such as parasol and premature baby inlay but I have not used these.

Other than the lie flat functionality my other favourite feature is how padded the seat is. There is great side impact protection and the harness is padded too. The seat feels incredibly comfy, I have been trying to think how to describe the padding on the seat but have struggled. It feels protective.

The three point harness can easily be adjusted with a simple press and release button located at the front of the seat.

Overall I have been really impressed with the Kiddy evolution pro2. It is quick and easy to install in the car and it feels incredibly comfy and protective. Baby seems to really like it too!

Kiddy sent us the car seat in exchange for review. All words are my own opinion

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It has been a rather exciting time for Thing 3. All at once things seem to be arriving, from the less exciting things like nappy liners for my washable nappies and of course the disposable nappies to some really exciting items!

Babyzen Yoyo

We sold or gave away all of our baby items so had no pushchair for Thing 3, well unless you include BOB but as that is a double and not suitable until 6 months it was not something we could use straight away. With my tummy muscles torn and hips displaced I decided that one of my priorities in a pushchair was that it would be lightweight. I do not know how long it will take me to recover after Thing 3 arrives and I so a light weight pushchair was a must.

We are also planning a family holiday to Florida, we were supposed to be going this year but due to fly on my due date so we had to reschedule, and I wanted something we could take with us. I did a lot of research into different systems and the Babyzen YoYo ticked all of our boxes.

I have purchased this pushchair and not been sent it to review, however I may well write a review on it as I absolutely love it so far. It is incredibly light weight and has a really small fold, it is actually cabin approved for most airlines. I love how easy it is to fold and unfold, and whilst I won't use it as a running pushchair I will be using it as my every day pushchair. I cannot wait for Thing 3 to arrive!

Brother Max Thermometer

The Brother Max is a 6 in 1 contact less thermometer, and I think it is fantastic. I remember the struggles of having to take a temperature from a wriggly baby and never getting an accurate reading. The thermometer is so easy to use, simply press the forehead button and point. It takes the temperature and displays the reading.

In addition you can also take the temperature of the room, food, milk, bath water and skin. All contact less so you could get an idea if something was too hot before using it or giving it to your child. Whilst for Thing 3, I can see this getting used for the whole family. The girls have been taking the temperatures of everything they can think of and think it is lots of fun. I will be sharing a full review and a video soon!

Sam the Sleepy Sheep

My girls take ages to go to sleep, in fact we started bedtime at 6pm it is now 10.15 and I still have one awake [my eldest]. Once they are asleep they do stay asleep though which I guess is a bonus. I am hoping Thing 3 does not behave the same way and is actually a good sleeper.

Sam the Sleepy Sheep is a story that has been designed using language patterns to help children relax and feel tired. The book comes with instructions at the start which took me a while to get used to, I did have to read the book a few times out loud without the girls just to get used to how to read the story. You can also get the story on audio book if you prefer.

My eldest at 5 cannot seem to switch off and for her she wants to read the book with me. She does not yet seem to be capable of just lying and listening to the story, so as of yet I do not know if it would work on her. My youngest however will lie back and listen. The story does seem to have a calming property on her and when we do read the book bedtime is much quicker and easier.

We do not read Sam the Sleepy Sheep every night, as the girls like to vary the stories they have read and to be honest some nights I myself am just too tired to read a longer story and perhaps put the emphasis that is needed with this book. On the nights we do read it, I can say that it does really help my youngest to unwind.

When Thing 3 arrives I hope to read the book to them too to help them to drift off to a good nights sleep.

Kiddy evolution pro 2

This week has been incredibly exciting as the other item to arrive is the car seat! I originally wanted a car seat that would lie flat in the car, however this was not possible as they did not fit in my car. It is always important to test the car seats first as not all seats fit every car. I also have two other car seats in my car for each of the girls and have to fit Thing 3 car seat around these.

The Kiddy evolution pro 2 can allow baby to lie flat outside of the car, so if I ever did decide to take the car seat out of the car I could make use of the lie flat feature. We have practised putting it in the car and it is incredibly easy to install. There are so many safety features, the newborn inlay feels incredibly padded and soft and I love the extending sun canopy. Cannot wait to bring Thing 3 home in it and I will be writing a full review too.

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Last year Lisa from Hollybobbs and I set out to complete the Yorkshire 3 peaks, unfortunately it just was not to be and you can read about what happened here. This year I was on my own, but more determined than ever to complete the Yorkshire 3 Peaks.

My chosen charity was Macmillan Cancer Support. I lost a good friend to cancer last year and it was her wish to raise money for the charity who had provided so much support to her and her family. The charity set a minimum sponsorship of £175 but I wanted to raise more.

For those unaware of the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, it is 26 miles climbing the 3 peaks of

Pen-y-Ghent (691 metres)

Whernside (728 metres)

Ingleborough (723 metres)

The challenge is to do this within 12 hours. Each peak is completed one after the other and you walk in between the peaks. The fastest ever recorded time is 2 hours, 29 minutes, 53 seconds in 1974. The women's record is 3 hours, 16 minutes and 17 seconds. In comparison the fastest marathon is 2 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds. It is incredibly hard as I found out last year and this meant I knew exactly what to expect.

We set off in the blazing hot sun at 7.40am. The walk up Pen-y-Ghent was hard work in the blazing sun, I could feel my skin burning and sweat was pouring, there was no breeze in sight. By the time I reached the top of Pen-y-Ghent I was feeling light headed and dizzy, I needed to stop to cool down. The midges were out in force so I didn't stop for long. The walk then became more relaxed, the clouds came out creating a much more pleasant yet still warm walk and became more relaxed as it was a decline to Whernside.

Last year Whernside was where it all went wrong, and so this year I had a score to settle. I felt positive and with the support of Joanne, Paul and Paula who I met en route managed to climb to the top feeling enthusiastic that I could make the cut off time at the base of Whernside.

Whilst Whernside is the one I was dreading most, it is for me the one with the most fantastic views. I was ready to begin the descent. I remember this part all too well from last year and had to make it before the cut off time.

Whernside is a steep decent, the best way to do it is to walk sideways. It is hard uneven rock and makes it impossible to put your foot flat on the floor. You are constantly balancing and trying not to fall over, which happens a lot. The worst part of the decent is that you keep thinking you are almost there, then another bit creeps in front, followed by another and it feels never ending. Every step I took was starting to become more painful, my toes were in agony. I stubbed both feet several times on the way down, and tripped over several rocks, every step was becoming more and more painful. The insect bites suffered on Pen-y-Ghent were also starting to itch.

I made it to the base of Whernside at 2.10pm. In plenty of time, the cut off time was 3.30pm. We were told that we were in the lead group of walkers around the top 40 and this raised spirits. The walk from Whernside to Ingleborough is only a short one and whilst on the flat even ground I was fine. As soon as the path to Ingleborough became boggy I was in a lot of pain, my toes could not handle much more. Then in front of me I saw lots of walkers sitting down and behind them a cliff face. Climbing up the cliff face I could see other walkers with the green Macmillan shirt, I knew what we were about to do. I cannot begin to describe the pain I was in at that point, every step I wanted to be sick from the pain. Looking down caused vertigo and looking up reminded you how far you had to go.

Imaged used with permission from Paula

After the almost sheer vertical climb, which yes you do have to use your hands to climb up, you have a 15 minute walk to reach the top. This was incredibly scary. Vertigo kept setting in, you tried not to look down but you could see the clouds below you. The path was uneven and rocky making walking painful. Not only this but other walkers where coming back from the summit down the same path, for the return part of the journey back to base.

Imaged used with permission from Paula

The good news is I made it to the top, despite the pain, the sun burn, the midge bites and messy hair. I was at the top at 4.10pm.

We headed back towards base and was told we only had 4 miles to go, which means it should have taken 1 more hour given the current walking pace. The path became more and more uneven and more rocky as it progressed. The midges seemed to be hungry and began attacking me from every angle. For the first time on the walk I was alone. No one to talk to and no company. Whilst I knew in my head there was only 4 more miles to go, the pain and exhaustion was setting in. The pain was so bad that I wanted to stop. The end was no where to be seen, all that was around me was high steeped banks and what appeared to be a never ending path. A sign post was in the distance and I hoped it had good news, I was hoping for the last mile, but no still 2 more to go. I was frustrated at this point, I thought I had walked further.

I was feeling low and in a lot of pain. Walkers were passing me all in groups all laughing and joking. Then I heard 'ow', 'ow', 'ow' and I turned. Three walkers whose names I didn't get where coming up behind me. One, I think number 331, said I didn't look too good and kindly gave me some paracetamol. The lady saying 'ow' said her feet were hurting her and we hobbled together for that last mile.

That last mile with paracetamol inside me and company and support of three walkers gave me the push I needed. I was still in a lot of pain but at least I was no longer alone. Then on the other side of the hill I saw the car park with my car in it. At last civilisation. I was excited and so relieved, we were almost there! Then a train station appeared from no where and I realised I was on the street where the finish line was. I crossed the finish line at 6.40pm, 11 hours exactly.

It is almost a month since I completed the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge. I broke 2 toes and suffered a huge blister [check out my Instagram if you want to see a picture]. I still have two toe nails which are black and painful if touched. If I walk or am stood up for too long then these two toes cause me immense pain. Whilst I would not do the challenge again, the memory of the pain is still too real and I feel there would be little point as I completed within 12hours, it was worth it. I raised to date £150 for Macmillan Cancer support. Unfortunately this is below the minimum they requested. It was an amazing experience and I met some wonderful people.

I have a few thank you to do, first to Lisa at Hollybobbs for not only sponsoring me but also for setting me the challenge initially. To my friends and family who have sponsored me and put up with my random training. The girls for letting Mummy go on some walks without you and for being ever so well behaved when you came on walks with me. To Britax for providing BOB and Kiddy for their carrier meaning I could take the girls with me. My dog for being amazing company on my training walks. To Kinspeed for all the activities you did to raise awareness and the donation made through my Just giving page.

Finally a big thank you to Blueprint for Yorkshire. In case you don't know about them, they have a strategy for ensuring safe drinking water and minimising the impact on the environment. In doing so they have preserved some amazing land in Yorkshire, which meant I have had some fantastic and free walks right on my doorstep. Without them I would have had to travel further for training meaning more time away from the girls.

It was tough but I did it and am so incredibly proud, I hope my friend whose memory I walked in is too.

This article has been referenced by the Park Leisure Guide to Yorkshire, discussing the most challenging walks in Yorkshire

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The weather this past week has been terrible. Any spare moment I have had it has rained. Any opportunity to get outdoors has been taken, quickly.

The rain held off today, although it was cloudy and cold this morning. I started off the day with a jumper on I was that cold. One of the things I love about where we live is that there is a lot to do with the girls. A favourite of my eldest is Kirklees Light Rail.. She really adores trains, so with a break in the weather we headed out.

The girls got very excited as we sat on the train

My youngest wanted to wave at everyone as we went past.

At the end of the track is a lovely play area, which the girls love. Last time we came it was Easter and my eldest asked where the Easter bunny was as he meet her at the Play area when we got off the train. I had to tell her he had gone home but would be back at Easter. The girls loved playing in the sand and built lots of sandcastles.

The only thing that stopped them playing was the sound of the whistle from the train as it came into the station. This got my youngest attention every time. I think she looks very grown up here.

The girls wanted to drive their own train, especially because they had been watching them come and go from the station.

Their train finally arrived at their chosen destination, the slide! My youngest would climb up the slide and then turn round and sit to go down, whilst my eldest used the more traditional stairs.

The next train arrived so we got on board and headed back home, the girls of course waving to all who went past.

After playing with her bike in the garden my eldest then declared she wanted to ride her bike to feed the ducks. This left me in a bit of a situation, as pushing my eldest on a bike, walking a dog and then what do I do with my youngest? I thought I would be brave and give it a go. Normally I would use BOB, and there is therefore no issue, but with my eldest in her 'I want my bike' mood BOB had to stay at home.

I left BOB at home and ventured out. Now what I did not mention in previous posts is I have a Kiddy Adventure Pack, Kiddy very kindly sent me one to review [a review will follow soon] and to help me with my training for the Yorkshire 3 Peaks. I would use this in training when I could not use BOB or if I only had one child. The only thing was I was always on my own so never really got the chance to take pictures. I also would not have a bike or a dog with me, I figured that using my Kiddy adventure pack was going to be the only solution.

My eldest was so happy that she got to ride [by ride I mean I pushed her] to feed the ducks. She jumped off her bike got out the bread from the bag we had tied to the front and she fed the ducks.

After feeding the ducks we continued to walk around the lake, with J standing always beside my eldest, I think in protection mode. My eldest was ever so happy to be on her bike.

My youngest loves the Kiddy Adventure Pack because she is so high up and she can see everything. I got fingers pointing and her saying words, even quack quack quack as we walked past the ducks.

I am glad I found a solution and took the girls out as they both really enjoyed themselves. My favourite part of today though happened this morning at breakfast. My youngest who is very nearly 15 months, said 'Chocolate' and pointed at the chocolate, not believing what I had heard said to her ' Did you say chocolate' she replied with 'Mummy, more Chocolate' I said to her ' Do you want chocolate' she looked at me nodded and said 'Yeah'. I love that she is putting words together to make sentences.

This day I love trains, bikes and chocolate.

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There is so much choice on the market for children's car seats. Rear Facing or Forward Facing? what group do I buy? Harness or impact shield? These are just a few of the questions I have asked myself whilst purchasing seats for my girls. It is such a tough choice.

One of the sites I often use is Which? as they are independent and purchase the seats to test. As an example I have embedded the video from their site on the difference of a good seat Vs bad seat, The video is a little upsetting even though crash dummies are used

Which? test their car seats beyond the tests required for the ECE R44/04 which is compulsory for all UK car seats. They test to 40mph, 10mph more than the ECE R44/04 test and use a full car instead of a mock up of the back seat. They test both rear collisions and side impacts. This element of the test accounts for 60% of the Which? rating with the other 40% down to ease of installation of the seat. As a correctly fitted seat is key to the seat performing correctly in a crash. Although I appreciate there are other sites and reviews Which? is the one I personally value most for its Independence and thoroughness.

For the question of Harness Vs impact shield. I personally prefer Impact shield. From 6 months of age my eldest daughter worked out how to get out of her harness. It did not matter if it was in the pushchair, car seat or high chair she could get out of them. No matter how tight or what gadget I used, she would work out a way to get out. At one point I had to do an emergency pull over and stop as she had climbed completely out of her seat. With the impact shield I have never experienced this. I know in some instances some children don't like the feel of the shield and so its always better to try a seat before you buy it but for us the impact shield is much safer.

An impact shield, I have found removes the element of the child being unable to climb out of the seat or undo the harness. I find it easier to get the impact shield on my daughter and fasten her in if she she is having a tantrum. With a harness I really struggle to fasten her in correctly if she is having a tantrum and generally not wanting to sit in the seat. I also personally feel reassured, as I often worry I have not done the harness up correctly.

When researching a car seat for my youngest I decided to go for rear facing after watching this video

However, I then encountered a problem. The only car seat I could find which was rear facing had harness and not an impact shield. I decided to go with it as the video had convinced me to go for rear facing. The car seat arrived and to this day I am not 100% convinced it is installed correctly. It was difficult to install, incredibly heavy so we cannot transport it between cars and my daughter can escape from the harness, which leads me wondering how effective it would be in a crash? It also is one of the smallest on the market but it still takes up a lot of space.

Having bought a Kiddy Energy Pro for my eldest I turned once again to Kiddy for a solution. They have the impact shield I prefer and also a Which? best buy.

There are several points I love about our Kiddy car seats, the first is how incredibly light weight they are. I can lift it one handed whilst carrying my daughter in the other arm. This makes it easy to transport between vehicles, and would be ideal to use on an aircraft. The second is how easy it is to fit. The Energy Pro is simply placed on the seat, whereas the Guardian Fix pro 2 has isofix bars. It took me less than 2 minutes to install using isofix. This leaves me confident it is installed correctly.

The third is that Kiddy really do love kids, so much so they put it on the tag

Kiddy really have thought of everything when they designed their seats. From Easy one touch recline, to adjustable footrests and to the Side impact protection. The covers come off and are machine washable which is great for me, as my kids love to make a mess. There is a wide range of colours to choose from too, meaning there should be something to suit all tastes.

This will be a seat that will last and grow with my daughters right up until they are 12 years old. My daughter loves her Kiddy car seat and after a hard day at nursery can have a place to rest her head whilst she naps.

Kiddy loves my kids and my kids love Kiddy.

Kiddy very kindly provided me with a Guardian Fix pro2. All words thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Ever since I can remember, the thought of taking my youngest anywhere in the car has filled me with dread. The constant, and I do mean constant, screaming from the second the car engine starts until we reach our destination and I pick her up make for very unpleasant journeys. It is not the car or the driver neither of these too factors seem to make any difference or for that matter the seat for she would happily sit in it, unless she was in the car.

She has started to outgrow her existing car seat. Her head was coming over the top and it was a real squish to get her in so I started looking into a new seat. My eldest has a Kiddy Energy Pro, which I have to say is one of the best car seats I think I have ever owned. Its light weight so easy to transport between cars. When I say lightweight I can pick it up with one hand with no effort. Incredibly easy to install, you simply sit it on the seat. My daughter finds it comfy and she loves the impact shield for resting her head on when tired. Better still it wins Which awards. An amazing seat. I started looking into seats for my youngest.

I read some reviews, and watched some videos and after weighing up evidence decided I wanted a rear facing car seat, with the option of forward facing. The option of forward facing was more in case the screaming in the car from my daughter was because of the direction of travel. I put a question on Babyhuddle and was amazed at the response. I really would have loved another Kiddy Car seat but unfortunately they only have forward facing.

I settled therefore for the BeSafe Izi Combi similar to this one. It arrived really quickly and I set about today installing it. I spent the best part of the morning, pulling levels, turning ratchets, extending poles and clipping clips onto various points of the car. I finally managed to install it and then came the part of getting my daughter in. Well I pulled levels and belts and finally managed to get her straps on. I could only get one of the magnetic clips to work to hold the straps out the way. It is no where near as easy as the Kiddy, and no where near as light weight. I have told my husband it is never coming out of the car because I cannot do with the stress of figuring out how to install it again.

I started the engine expecting to hear screaming but all I got was some mm noises. That's never happened before. We only went to pick up some milk about a 20min drive and when I stopped the car still silence, the unthinkable had happened, sleep. Now she was trying her hardest to get comfy to fall asleep, her head kept flopping forward even on the most reclined position, but eventually she did and off she went. I was in shock.

For all the stress it took me to put the seat in the car and its large size and weight non of it matters because, not only is my daughter safe, she also appears to be happy. This is the first time in 8 months we have got in the car and no tears, no screaming. I love that she is high up so she can see out the window and she even loves that she can see her sister. The padding on the seat does feel lovely and soft so I think it is comfortable to sit in, shame it does not recline more, although it does recline more than most. I am hoping with time the shoulder straps become easier to adjust as they are really stiff and that the buckle becomes easier to clip on and off as it is really fiddly. It is by no means as easy to install or move from car to car as the Kiddy but she seems to like it.

This day I love the new car seat

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